As the use of visual collaboration technologies continues to grow, many organizations are turning to analytics to help manage, plan and optimize their video environment. Analytics help provide insight into different trends that might otherwise remain hidden allowing businesses to make smarter decisions and optimize their performance.
For example, at a quarterly review one company noticed that usage of a previously high-demand system completely dropped off. After investigation, it turned out that an entire business unit was relocated leaving the video system dormant. They were able to ship that system to a different location and usage returned to normal.
This is just …

Telemedicine has grown over the last year. There are new applications in mobile health, a huge surge in online consultations, new biometric devices and large scale-deployments such as e-visits and remote monitoring. Today Telemedicine has essentially become “mainstream” in hospitals, the home, pharmacies and communities. It is a very interesting time to be in a changing health care system.
ATA has been transporting itself to new places. It is one of the fastest growing associations in America, which is also an indicator of interest in the field. Due to its supporters and users, ATA has grown and will continue to grow …

Skype, owned by Microsoft, recently announced that it will be making its Group Video Calling (GVC) service free of charge for Windows desktop, OS X and the Xbox One. Additional platforms, such as Windows Phone, Android, and iOS, will be added in the future according to Phillip Snalune, Skype’s General Manager of Consumer Product Marketing.
GVC can support up to ten people on PC & Mac computers making Skype more competitive with Google Hangouts along with making it a more viable alternative for business looking to get into video. This, in conjunction with improved bandwidth and cameras will help blur the …

Welcome to our bi-weekly recap of the week’s best articles surrounding collaboration.
What’s Standards-Based Video Conferencing Anyway?
“Are you currently set up with some sort of standards-based system for video conferencing?” The question itself exemplifies the inability of current players to understand the shift that WebRTC is bringing with it–and here, WebRTC is just a catalyst for a larger industry trend in communications. I have WebRTC on my browser. I’ve got Skype installed and Hangouts as well. Between these three services, do I need any “standards-based system for video conferencing” to talk to anyone?
A UC in the Cloud Update
Adoption of cloud-based UC …

There’s a lot of technology that goes on behind the scenes of video conferencing in order to make it a seamless experience for the user. One of these processes that video conferencing endpoints perform is video encoding, or the compression of digital audio and video signals, for transmission across networks in an efficient and effective manner. Then, another video endpoint decodes, or decompresses that signal, where video is displayed on a screen and audio is produced from a speaker. Today, there are two major video encoding and decoding implementations that are in use by industry leading manufacturers – Scalable Video …

Virtual teams and remote workers are growing in popularity as advancements in technology make it easier than ever to connect. Here at IVCi we fully support telework and virtual teams and I myself am a part of one. I work on Long Island while our Digital Marketing Manager (and my main counterpart) works in Denver. Even with the two hour time difference we’ve managed to develop a great process, a great relationship and most importantly, produce great results.
Here are the top 5 things that we find absolutely necessary to enable remote collaboration:
Desktop Video Conferencing: Video conferencing is a critical aspect …

On April 23, 2014 IVCi hosted a webinar that discussed several key steps an organization must take in order to optimize usage and adoption of visual collaboration technologies among their workforce. The webinar featured great content on best practices for identifying and integrating the technology, designing processes and procedures, and rolling out to the end users.
SLIDES PRESENTED:
WEBINAR RECORDING:

Social media is a staple in most consumers’ lives; from staying in touch with geographically dispersed friends and family to garnering recommendations for life’s most important decisions. There are over a billion people using social media every day; whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, or the multitude of other platforms available. This leads to tremendous opportunities for brands to interact with their customers.
A couple of months ago Google announced Chromebox, an HD Telepresense solution that is compatible with Google Hangouts – Google’s consumer video solutions. Facebook and Skype also have consumer-type video platforms; with Skype being owned by Microsoft who, …

Welcome to our bi-weekly recap of the week’s best articles surrounding collaboration.
New hardware Solutions, New Investment, What Does it Mean to Industry
The video collaboration world has reached another interesting inflection point. The market has shown that there is an experience threshold to deliver effective remote video collaboration – recall the rapid doubling of the video market between 2006 and 2008 when HD video became possible across a range of platforms. It is also clear that high quality experience delivers both dramatic productivity increases as well as significant business growth opportunities.
Top 5 Tips to Collect and Protect Tacit Knowledge with Video
An organization’s most …

As video conferencing becomes increasingly popular and widely used, the unique use cases continue to grow. Video has now expanded far past face-to-face conferencing for meetings. One particularly interesting use case we have noticed recently is using video conferencing to host virtual concerts.
Picture this; you are an up and coming singer or musician trying to build a fan base or an established artist wanting to connect with your fans. Where are these fans? In the age of social media, the answer is often everywhere. Most artists would love the ability to perform for these fans all over the country or …